The Medici – Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

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Anthropologist Christian Feest has pointed out that actual participation in the conquest of the Americas did not necessarily imply an interest in goods from the New World—in fact, the most avid collectors were late sixteenth-century European rulers who were not participating in colonization, such as the Bavarian dukes in Munich, the Austrian Habsburgs, and especially the Medici grand dukes. Through unrest, church schisms, invasion by the Holy Roman Empire and France, the Medici flourished, none more so than the flamboyant Lorenzo. The only thing she knows for certain is that it was once owned by the Medicis, the powerful family that controlled Renaissance Florence. On the bright side, the author’s ability to interlace the lives of so many eminent figures surrounding the Medici family is highly commendable. The long history of the Medici family involves a series of astute politicians and diplomats, bankers, popes and fearless leaders.

This book is absolutely enthralling, detailing the massive influence the family had on Florence’s cultural, political, and economic history. As friends and clients are slaughtered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice librarian Brother Guido.By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising.

Soon, I sought out YouTube to satiate my ever growing hunger for information and a virtual taste of the rich cultural heritage of Renaissance Florence. In The Medici Boy by John L’Heureux, Donatello’s passion for his enormously beautiful model and part-time rent boy, Agnolo, ignites a dangerous jealousy that ultimately leads to murder. Strathern also follows the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello; as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola; and the fortunes of those members of the Medici family who achieved success away from Florence, including the two Medici popes and Catherine de' Médicis, who became Queen of France and played a major role in that country through three turbulent reigns. Manuel Blasco de Nebra and Antonio Soler take us far from Martini’s sophisticated counterpoint and Bolognese polish to a proud and fiery music.The Italians invented banking and double-entry bookkeeping, and to avoid accusations of usury, Giovanni charged only a percentage for “risk. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).